Furman University is launching a Master of Science in Community Engaged Medicine (MS-CEM) this summer. The new degree program aims to narrow the gap between community health and the resources necessary to meet those needs.

Open to all qualified students with a bachelor’s degree, the MS-CEM is a 12-month, three-term program, which provides an advanced understanding of science and population health. The Graduate Studies office at Furman is now accepting applications for the summer term, which runs June 4-Aug. 9.

In keeping with Furman’s tradition of engaged learning and small class size, enrollment for the master’s program is capped at 20 students per year.

MS-CEM Director and Professor of Biology Victoria Turgeon said the program is designed to be more than a series of upper-level science courses offered in other master’s programs.

“It is important that the Master of Science in Community Engaged Medicine be in alignment with Furman’s mission and extend liberal arts and sciences values to students who are ultimately planning careers in health care,” she said. “Courses and experiences in the program were created to make a difference in how future practitioners think about medicine and health.”

This program, with a focus on the disparities between health care needs and resources, uses field experiences to allow students to see, first-hand, existing health-related disparities and to work with community partners to meet those needs. 

While aimed at mitigating the growing imbalance between community health needs and resources, the MS-CEM is also designed for those seeking to bolster applications to medical or dental schools, or for students pursuing allied health care professions, including physician assistants, dental hygienists and radiographers. With the integration of population health, this program also provides avenues for students to enter public health programs and careers.

“We are excited to offer this graduate degree program,” said Troy Terry, Furman’s executive director of graduate and evening studies. “Developed in partnership with Furman’s Institute for the Advancement of Community Health and our community partners at Greenville Health System, this program will meet the immediate needs of candidates in our community by offering a Furman learning experience delivered by our best faculty using state-of-the-art technology and learning techniques.” 

In addition to health care seminars and community medicine fieldwork in underserved areas, the courses for the 34-credit, MS-CEM include:

• Applied Human Clinical Anatomy
• Applied Human Clinical Physiology
• Implicit Bias & Community Engagement Training
• Clinical Experiential Training Elective
• Advanced Genetics
• Applied Epidemiology
• Metabolic Biochemistry & Nutrition
• Health Policy